Environmental Stewardship

A lot of the Charity’s work is dedicated to the management and conservation of some 170 acres of wonderful landscape around Walberswick village. 
Much of this is focused on the Common - the large NW area shown in red on the map below - but all of the Charity's land is actively looked after.

ES Update November 2026

 It’s a busy time of year in terms of Environmental Stewardship for WCLC.  Fortunately the weather broke and the bracken could finally be cut on the dry heath. Looking forward, please note works will be going on over the next month along Sandy Lane, Bennett’s Drift, Town Marshes, and the “Triangle”.
 

Sandy Lane is a bridleway and so has to be maintained for cyclists and horse riders as well as pedestrians so it is time to re-establish the appropriate dimensions.  The contractor will do his best to maintain the special aesthetic of the space whilst clearing some substantial material.

You may recall that our National Landscapes Volunteers built a ‘dead’ hedge at the top end of Bennett’s Drift.     At the bottom end some tree works need attending to in order to improve access for working vehicles to the grazing marshes, north of the Bird Hide - which is looking good and worth a visit.  Working access is needed for both farmer Mark whose cattle help to keep the marsh in great condition for biodiversity and also for the contractor who works on a section of the dykes each year, again to maintain this habitat for farming and nature.

The Triangle is a piece of land near the Bell where the steps to the car park are. Some time ago, a Hawthorn Copse was planted and the crowns now needs lifting so that the space can be kept tidy.  Hawthorn is a great hedging and wildlife plant with year round interest, red berries for winter sustenance  and drought resistance.

Vanessa Tucker
 

For well over 15 years we have worked in partnership with Natural England under a Countryside Stewardship Agreement, renewed from January 2024. This agreement ensures that the Charity is able to continue its environmental work until at least 2028.

The vast majority of this work is devoted to improving the diversity of habitat on the Common. Our aim here is to provide a mosaic of vegetation which allows all heathland features to flourish, including pioneer heath and bare ground which benefits rarer invertebrates, birds, reptiles and plants. In recent years, nightjars and nightingales returned to the Common and there have been at least five calling male nightjars - an unusual and distinctive churring trill.
If cattle or sheep were able to roam freely across the Common as they did many years ago, the more invasive species would be kept in check and a greater diversity of vegetation maintained. But nowadays the number of walkers with dogs would mean that any livestock would have to be fenced in. That would then destroy the free-roaming, unenclosed nature of the landscape which is the essence of a Common.